Nehemiah10

Nehemiah 10 details the solemn covenant made by the Israelites to uphold God's law. Following a list of those who sealed the agreement, the people collectively vowed to walk in the Mosaic law, abstaining from intermarriage and Sabbath commerce. They also established ordinances for the financial support and maintenance of the temple service, including a temple tax, wood offerings, firstfruits, and tithes.
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Signatories of the Covenant

1
Now those that sealed were: Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah, ​
2
Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,
3
Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah,
4
Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,
5
Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,
6
Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,
7
Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,
8
Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah; these were the priests. ​
9
And the Levites: namely, Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel;
10
and their brethren, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,
11
Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah,
12
Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,
13
Hodiah, Bani, Beninu.
14
The chiefs of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,
15
Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,
16
Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
17
Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,
18
Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,
19
Hariph, Anathoth, Nobai,
20
Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,
21
Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,
22
Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,
23
Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,
24
Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
25
Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,
26
and Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,
27
Malluch, Harim, Baanah.

The Community Joins the Oath

28
And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinim, and all they that had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every one that had knowledge, and understanding; ​
29
they clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of Jehovah our Lord, and his ordinances and his statutes; ​

Vows Regarding Social and Economic Life

30
and that we would not give our daughters unto the peoples of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons; ​
31
and if the peoples of the land bring wares or any grain on the sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy of them on the sabbath, or on a holy day; and that we would forego the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt. ​

Vows Regarding Temple Support and Offerings

32
Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God; ​
33
for the showbread, and for the continual meal-offering, and for the continual burnt-offering, for the sabbaths, for the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin-offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.
34
And we cast lots, the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood-offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers’ houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn upon the altar of Jehovah our God, as it is written in the law; ​
35
and to bring the first-fruits of our ground, and the first-fruits of all fruit of all manner of trees, year by year, unto the house of Jehovah;
36
also the first-born of our sons, and of our cattle, as it is written in the law, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our God, unto the priests that minister in the house of our God;
37
and that we should bring the first-fruits of our dough, and our heave-offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, the new wine and the oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites; for they, the Levites, take the tithes in all the cities of our tillage. ​
38
And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure-house. ​
39
For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the heave-offering of the grain, of the new wine, and of the oil, unto the chambers, where are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests that minister, and the porters, and the singers: and we will not forsake the house of our God. ​

Study Notes for Nehemiah 10

Verse 1

Nehemiah, the governor (Tirshatha), heads the list, emphasizing the official nature and civil authority behind this renewed covenant. The sealing process formally ratifies the public commitment made by the community in the preceding chapter (Nehemiah 9).

Verse 8

This verse concludes the list of the twenty-one priestly families who sealed the document, representing the formal consensus of the religious leadership.

Verse 28

This section highlights that the commitment was not limited to the leadership (vv. 1–27), but included the entire population—Levites, Temple servants, and all those who had separated themselves from foreign groups to adhere to the Law.

Verse 29

Entering into a 'curse and into an oath' meant invoking divine judgment upon themselves if they failed to keep the Mosaic Law. This solemn action stresses the gravity and binding nature of their public commitment to complete obedience.

Verse 30

This vow addresses the crucial issue of mixed marriages, identified in Ezra and Nehemiah as the primary threat to Israel's ethnic and religious purity after the return from Babylonian exile.

Verse 31

The commitment to strict Sabbath observance (no buying/selling) and the Sabbatical Year (debt cancellation and resting the land) demonstrates a renewed adherence to the core economic justice demands of the Torah (Exod 23:10-11; Deut 15:1-2).

Verse 32

This ordinance established a fixed annual temple tax (a third of a shekel), slightly less than the half-shekel mandated in the wilderness (Exod 30:13). This tax ensured necessary funds for the continuous function and maintenance of the sacrificial system.

Verse 34

The 'wood offering' was essential for keeping the altar fire burning continually for the burnt offerings. Casting lots ensured that this necessary but burdensome task of supplying fuel was shared equitably among the families.

Verse 37

This verse clarifies the essential mechanism of financial support: firstfruits (dough, wine, oil) supported the priests in the Temple chambers, while the tithes were distributed to the Levites in the surrounding agricultural towns.

Verse 38

This mandates the 'tithe of the tithe,' requiring the Levites to give 10% of the tithes they received back to the priests (the sons of Aaron). This ensured the integrity of the Temple treasury and supported the high-ranking religious officials.

Verse 39

The chapter concludes with a powerful theological declaration: the fulfillment of these financial and ceremonial obligations is directly tied to national faithfulness. To support the Temple is to commit, 'we will not forsake the house of our God.'

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